Durbin: Trump Wants To Pass The SAVE America Act Because He's Worried About The Outcome Of The Midterm Elections

Durbin: "Historically, the President's party doesn't do well in an off-year election. So, he is trying to find ways to diminish the number of voters in America in certain areas."

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, outlined the specific provisions in Republicans' SAVE America Act that would prevent Americans from exercising their right to vote, including rejecting common IDs to register to vote and penalizing married Americans who changed their last names.

Under the SAVE America Act, which requires proof of citizenship to register to vote, driver's licenses and other government-issued IDs, including a REAL ID, alone would not be sufficient. According to a nonpartisan study by the Brennan Center and the University of Maryland, more than 21 million Americans who are eligible to vote-or about one out of every ten voting age citizens-do not have documents readily available to prove their citizenship.

"First, you're going to have to pay a fee for a passport, $165. You may have to wait three, four weeks, maybe even a month or more. So, if you're trying to get a passport in time to register to vote for the election, you better think ahead a few months and you better have the money, $165, to get the job done," Durbin said. "And there's other proof you can use and that's your birth certificate. But of course that is not always easily available for everybody. Do you know where your birth certificate is-a copy that you can use? … And then there's a complication on the birth certificate if you're a married woman. You may have taken his [your husband's] name now, so your birth certificate doesn't reflect the name that you use legally today."

Addressing Republicans' manufactured argument that American elections are not secure because noncitizens are voting, Durbin explained that federal law already bans noncitizens from participating in American elections and that cases of illegal voting are extremely uncommon.

"Why would we change all of those [rules for registering] to vote with new standards of proof? Because of the argument on the other side that there are illegal aliens voting in America. Well, they better take care if they try that-it is against the law today without any change [to legislation] on the Senate floor if you try to vote and you're not legally an American citizen," Durbin said.

During his speech, Durbin recounted a 2024 Bipartisan Policy Center analysis of the conservative Heritage Foundation's Election Fraud database which found only 77 instances where noncitizens successfully cast ballots from 1999-2023, each of which faced investigation by the appropriate authorities.

"We have the most accurate and valid voting system in the world. There's no doubt about it. To try and create the impression otherwise is just plain wrong-the facts don't back you up. Then what is this all about? Why would we have to pass this bill before any other measure or legislation? That's what President Trump said," Durbin said. "A proposal was brought to him to make sure that people working at the airport are paid on time, and he said I'm not taking that up until you pass the voting bill. Why is it so important to him to change the process to register to vote? Because it is going to create chaos in this situation for the next election, which is only a few months away. He's worried about the outcome. Historically, the President's party doesn't do well in an off-year election. So, he is trying to find ways to diminish the number of voters in America in certain areas."

Durbin concluded, "We need to protect the right for legally eligible Americans to register to vote and to vote. We shouldn't have a poll tax like a new passport fee of $165 to make you eligible to go register to vote… If it's a true constitutional challenge, if it's a true legal crisis, let's change it. But 77 in 24 years, that to me doesn't strike me as any kind of crisis. It is a crisis that is being created by the Republican leadership to push a bill that is unnecessary. Many people fought and died for our right to vote. We shouldn't have it taken away from us because we stacked up bureaucracy in the path towards registration. That doesn't make sense."

Video of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

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